16 pages 32 minutes read

Naomi Shihab Nye

Morning Song

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 2019

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics.

Literary Devices

Form and Meter

“Morning Song” is a free-verse poem, displaying no consistent rhyme scheme or meter. The discernible feature of this poem is its use of couplets—two-lined stanzas—which suggests an “us” vs. “them” situation. The only exception is the final line, which stands alone for emphasis. The lines often feature enjambment, or the continuation of a thought from line to line and even from stanza to stanza, as in the following: “She sees you at 2 a.m. adjusting your / impenetrable vest” (Lines 18-19).

Italics are another featured device in this poem. These lines read as inner dialogue with Nye using first-person pronouns, as if she is embodying the voice of Ayyad: “They pretended not to see us” (Line 31).

Metaphor

In stanza eight, Nye uses a metaphor to suggest Ayyad’s prowess: “If you stomp her garden / each leaf expands its view” (Lines 15-16). In this section of the poem, Nye speaks of how larger than life the tiny journalist is despite her small size and young age. The comparison of Ayyad’s world to a garden implies the blooming and blossoming of which she is capable as she grows and learns more about the world around her.

Related Titles

By Naomi Shihab Nye

Study Guide

logo

300 Goats

Naomi Shihab Nye

300 Goats

Naomi Shihab Nye

Study Guide

logo

Alphabet

Naomi Shihab Nye

Alphabet

Naomi Shihab Nye

Study Guide

logo

Burning the Old Year

Naomi Shihab Nye

Burning the Old Year

Naomi Shihab Nye

Study Guide

logo

Different Ways to Pray

Naomi Shihab Nye

Different Ways to Pray

Naomi Shihab Nye

Study Guide

logo

Famous

Naomi Shihab Nye

Famous

Naomi Shihab Nye

Study Guide

logo

Gate A-4

Naomi Shihab Nye

Gate A-4

Naomi Shihab Nye

Study Guide

logo

Jerusalem

Naomi Shihab Nye

Jerusalem

Naomi Shihab Nye

Study Guide

logo

Kindness

Naomi Shihab Nye

Kindness

Naomi Shihab Nye

Study Guide

logo

Making a Fist

Naomi Shihab Nye

Making a Fist

Naomi Shihab Nye

Study Guide

logo

My Uncle’s Favorite Coffee Shop

Naomi Shihab Nye

My Uncle’s Favorite Coffee Shop

Naomi Shihab Nye

Study Guide

logo

Shoulders

Naomi Shihab Nye

Shoulders

Naomi Shihab Nye

Study Guide

logo

The Art of Disappearing

Naomi Shihab Nye

The Art of Disappearing

Naomi Shihab Nye

Study Guide

logo

The Rider

Naomi Shihab Nye

The Rider

Naomi Shihab Nye

Study Guide

logo

The Turtle of Oman

Naomi Shihab Nye

The Turtle of Oman

Naomi Shihab Nye

Study Guide

logo

The Words Under the Words

Naomi Shihab Nye

The Words Under the Words

Naomi Shihab Nye

Study Guide

logo

Valentine for Ernest Mann

Naomi Shihab Nye

Valentine for Ernest Mann

Naomi Shihab Nye